On board diagnostics (OBD) can refer to a vehicle's self-diagnostic and reporting capability. OBD systems can give an owner of the vehicle, or a repair technician, access to certain data/information relevant to operation of the vehicle, e.g., state of health information. While early instances of OBD involved the illumination of, e.g., a malfunction indicator light, more recent instances of OBD can use digital communications to provide data, such as real-time data, in addition to a standardized series of diagnostic trouble codes, for identifying and remedying malfunctions within a vehicle.
An OBD device can refer to an electronic apparatus that connects with an OBD port of, e.g., a vehicle, and reads data from the vehicle.